Want a cut-rate, wholly genuine version of Microsoft Office 2007 at a nice discount? Then run out and buy Microsoft Equipt, while supplies last. Here's how it works.

As part of its decision to kill Windows Live OneCare next year and replace it with free security software, Microsoft is also pulling its Equipt subscription package from the market. Makes sense, since OneCare is a big part of Equipt.

But Equipt also includes the full Home and Student version of Office 2007. Office can be purchased separately at Amazon for $85. But as of Thursday, Equipt could be had at CircuitCity.com for $70.

Here's the kicker.

Equipt's $70 price tag is actually a subscription fee that must be renewed each year. But since the suite is going the way of the Dodo (though not necessarily the way of the woolly mammoth), Microsoft will no longer charge the renewal fee. That means if you buy Equipt now, you have Office 2007 for life with no more fees.

This is a fact that Microsoft has confirmed to me.

What's more, the company is offering a prorated discount to Equipt purchasers who won't have had the software for a year when the plug is pulled. That means you can buy the Equipt package for 70 bucks and maybe even get some money back!

But you better hurry. A Microsoft spokesman told me that the company will "work closely with retail partners to remove Microsoft Equipt from retail distribution."

There's another reason you better move fast if you want this deal. Circuit City recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and it's closing stores left and right. There's a chance that the retail chain might not outlive Windows Live OneCare, which goes off the market next June.

Crazy business, this computer industry.